Robo
Club Champion
What can I say...it's a great forum.
It's addictive,same as the game we
all love.
It's addictive,same as the game we
all love.
smange
Journeyman Pro
Ken,
We had a meet last April at Massereene, with brendy, cc07, scott and myself. It was a good day and it would be great to get another one organised.
Got to agree on the forum sentiments as well
AlchemyGolf
Head Pro
Just like to make it clear that Homer does not speak for me on this one,I do like the forum but I am NOT a golf addict.
I gave up golf for 6 years to take up cycling,once I had kids I could not train enough to do it to the level I wanted so I was forced to give it up and came back to golf out of necessity to have something of my own to do every now and again and not impact on family time to much.Golf was something I could do once or twice a week and compete unlike cycling where you have to train constantly.
Given the choice of playing the top courses in the country or riding the high mountains in the Alps or Pyrenees then im heading back to France with unfinished business.
Once my kids are at an age where I have more time on my hands I will be putting the clubs in the attic for a very long time and dusting down the bike.
I do enjoy my golf these days but im not addicted.
I admire all your keeness and enthusiasm for golf because I have the exact same feelings for cycling and know how great it is to work hard and try to achieve goals in a sport you truly enjoy.
haplesshacker
Money List Winner
To be fair Alchemy, and Homer. I think that 'most' of us on here have evolved towards golf for various reasons. For some it's a time thing, now that we have families. For some it's because we can't compete with the youngsters in our previous sports. For others it was injury lead. For some it's just something different to compete in. For some it's just a leisure pastime. For some it's because they were, for whatever reason unable to reach the heights of their previous sports.
And the rest, well they were always golfers.
That is what makes this sport interesting. It's the various ways that we've all got here.
And the rest, well they were always golfers.
That is what makes this sport interesting. It's the various ways that we've all got here.
AlchemyGolf
Head Pro
absolutly right Hapless
Let me make one thing clear from the age of 10-23 golf was my LIFE,I lived it and breathed it 24/7.
After playing full time for 2 years I lost my mojo it had become a job and not the hobby I loved so much .I was fed up with B&Bs all the time and playing under the pressure of expectation constantly.after that from 23-30 I just plodded on not really practicing or really bothered,it was used to spend time with my mates on a saturday nothing else.
Then I was sat watching the tour de france one night and said im gonna do that and From that precise moment between ages 30-36 I never touched a golf club once.
I suddenly had a new challenge,starting a sport from the bottom and seeing how far you could go rather than doing a sport you had lost heart in and never felt you would play to the standard you had before.
When I came back to golf in 2008 I had refound my mojo and really enjoyed it again.
I miss the cycling terribly,think how you would all feel if for whatever reason you gave up golf,well thats how I feel!
Golf is filling the void a little till I return to the saddle when I will give up golf instantly.
The great thing is though, that the clubs will always be there when im to old to climb mountains and ride races,golfs longevity is one of its greatest assets!
Let me make one thing clear from the age of 10-23 golf was my LIFE,I lived it and breathed it 24/7.
After playing full time for 2 years I lost my mojo it had become a job and not the hobby I loved so much .I was fed up with B&Bs all the time and playing under the pressure of expectation constantly.after that from 23-30 I just plodded on not really practicing or really bothered,it was used to spend time with my mates on a saturday nothing else.
Then I was sat watching the tour de france one night and said im gonna do that and From that precise moment between ages 30-36 I never touched a golf club once.
I suddenly had a new challenge,starting a sport from the bottom and seeing how far you could go rather than doing a sport you had lost heart in and never felt you would play to the standard you had before.
When I came back to golf in 2008 I had refound my mojo and really enjoyed it again.
I miss the cycling terribly,think how you would all feel if for whatever reason you gave up golf,well thats how I feel!
Golf is filling the void a little till I return to the saddle when I will give up golf instantly.
The great thing is though, that the clubs will always be there when im to old to climb mountains and ride races,golfs longevity is one of its greatest assets!
HTL
Tour Winner
If you don't really enjoy golf why spend so much time on a golf forum? I'm sure there are loads of cycling forums, talking about how to dress like a power ranger and eat energy bars while getting flies in your teeth.
AlchemyGolf
Head Pro
HTL
I dont remember saying I dont enjoy golf,ah yeah thats because I didnt say it!
As already mentioned I do like the forum and I do enjoy golf
but its not my passion and I will just walk away from it again at some point.
As for a cycling forum,well that would be like YOU taking part in this forum and not being able to play which I know would drive you nuts.
As for spending time on the forum,I am at work on shifts and it does help pass the time.
There is nothing wrong with playing golf and admitting you enjoy it but prefer something else.
I am always honest and maybe not diplomatic admitting this to people who are so into the game,maybe its not what you want to hear but always honest!
Im not knocking the game.Its a great game!!!
ricardodaintino
Head Pro
Honesty is the best policy Alchemy but so is tact and consideration for others. For a lot of people on here, without kids and committments, a golfing life is their dream, something to aspire to. You talk about it as if it was a bad time in your life.
Some people aspire to be good enough to play fulltime and hit the road with their skills. Its just a bit self indulgeant and disrespectful to be so open and honest and talk about playing professionally in a derogertory way. Its the equivilent of hearing celebs talk about awards and red carpet events as an inconvienience.
You are fully entitled to your opinion and I personally love hearing about your experiences and days in the game. Just try and be a bit more tactful because we're all a little protective of our game. Thats why we're on here.
Some people aspire to be good enough to play fulltime and hit the road with their skills. Its just a bit self indulgeant and disrespectful to be so open and honest and talk about playing professionally in a derogertory way. Its the equivilent of hearing celebs talk about awards and red carpet events as an inconvienience.
You are fully entitled to your opinion and I personally love hearing about your experiences and days in the game. Just try and be a bit more tactful because we're all a little protective of our game. Thats why we're on here.
haplesshacker
Money List Winner
Alchemy.
Don't take this the wrong way, but you hardly look like the 'usual' build for competion road cycling. What I mean is that from the lycra clad 'gangs' that I see first thing on a Sunday morning clogging up the roads, most are 6 foot plus tall and have very long legs. Your physique would appear to be better suited to BMX type cycling
Don't take this the wrong way, but you hardly look like the 'usual' build for competion road cycling. What I mean is that from the lycra clad 'gangs' that I see first thing on a Sunday morning clogging up the roads, most are 6 foot plus tall and have very long legs. Your physique would appear to be better suited to BMX type cycling
AlchemyGolf
Head Pro
1st thing is i never played professionally,i was a full time amatuer.
The 1st year was great,had some decent results and enjoyed it,The 2nd year was horrible,the pressure to get good enough results to carry on was enourmous,members had put money up to sponsor me and that only added to the burden.
You play your golf for enjoyment and the challenge,well let me assure you that when you try to play and there is everything riding on it,it is a totally different experience.
It can be totally demoralising,i,e played the English Amatuer strokeplay at Little Aston,Shot 72 gross in the 1st round,I was very pleased,got into the clubhouse and Gary Harris had shot 64.Just Made the cut after a 2nd round of 75.then had 73 and 74 in the final round,very solid play on a tough golf course,I finished 12 shots behind the winner in the back 3rd of the field.
You cant help but get disheartened!!!
In the 2nd year I was 22 years old,lonely,tired of driving all the time,sick of cheap B&Bs and declined into a vicious circle which took my handicap from +0.3 to 2.3 in a season.Thats a lot of bad rounds.
Im not going to coat it in sugar and say something it was not.This was my experience,exactly how it was ,simple as that
Am I glad I did it,Absolutly
Do I feel privilaged to have had the chance to do it.
Absolutly.
The 1st year was great,had some decent results and enjoyed it,The 2nd year was horrible,the pressure to get good enough results to carry on was enourmous,members had put money up to sponsor me and that only added to the burden.
You play your golf for enjoyment and the challenge,well let me assure you that when you try to play and there is everything riding on it,it is a totally different experience.
It can be totally demoralising,i,e played the English Amatuer strokeplay at Little Aston,Shot 72 gross in the 1st round,I was very pleased,got into the clubhouse and Gary Harris had shot 64.Just Made the cut after a 2nd round of 75.then had 73 and 74 in the final round,very solid play on a tough golf course,I finished 12 shots behind the winner in the back 3rd of the field.
You cant help but get disheartened!!!
In the 2nd year I was 22 years old,lonely,tired of driving all the time,sick of cheap B&Bs and declined into a vicious circle which took my handicap from +0.3 to 2.3 in a season.Thats a lot of bad rounds.
Im not going to coat it in sugar and say something it was not.This was my experience,exactly how it was ,simple as that
Am I glad I did it,Absolutly
Do I feel privilaged to have had the chance to do it.
Absolutly.
RGuk
Tour Winner
Ahh, so that'll be my other course then....
I dread to think what they did with the pins those days
(meant in a supportive, not sarcastic way, of course)I find it OK, but then again, I'm happy to bogey 2,6 and 10 all day long. Very fair par 5s there....
Oddly enough, my favourite hole is the SI 1.
AlchemyGolf
Head Pro
rguk
Yeah the 2nd is a LOONNNGGGG uphill par 4,never had trouble with 6 but I still have nightmares about the 10th,nasty double dog leg.That bloody tree in the middle between the 2 fairways.
12 is one of my all time favourite par 5s,always nailed my tee shot and felt i had to for it in 2 and they always put the pin front left behind the water,AARRRRGGGGG!!!!!
I love Little Aston,always played in the midland amatuer every year where 1 round was played at Sutton Coldfield.
Great event that!!
Yeah the 2nd is a LOONNNGGGG uphill par 4,never had trouble with 6 but I still have nightmares about the 10th,nasty double dog leg.That bloody tree in the middle between the 2 fairways.
12 is one of my all time favourite par 5s,always nailed my tee shot and felt i had to for it in 2 and they always put the pin front left behind the water,AARRRRGGGGG!!!!!
I love Little Aston,always played in the midland amatuer every year where 1 round was played at Sutton Coldfield.
Great event that!!
AlchemyGolf
Head Pro
Hapless
Your dead right my friend,since i stopped the pounds have piled on and it feels crap.
pic below is half way up a pyrenean mountain 3 years ago,not a scrap of fat!
Your dead right my friend,since i stopped the pounds have piled on and it feels crap.
pic below is half way up a pyrenean mountain 3 years ago,not a scrap of fat!
ricardodaintino
Head Pro
Don't be so hard on yourself Alchemy.
If this guy can do it.....
If this guy can do it.....
T
thecraw
Guest
Think this shows alot about your attitude.
Gary Orr was still off of 5 at sixteen, Greg Norman didnt take up the game till he was 14. Do you think these guys spat the dummy after finishing 12 shots of the pace?
I am nowhere near as good a golfer as yourself but it doesnt stop me trying. I have played 18 holes of medal golf, hit sixteen greens in regulation and had 42 putts, I could easily have chucked the game there and then. I seriously considered chucking the game for over a month but I didnt I came back to it and I love it. How the hell you can say so flippantly that you cant wait to chuck the game and go cycling again is quit simply beyond me considering golf is also your new business venture.
If you feel like that then why play at the moment, why come on and post that your hitting it better this week, you cant wait to play a county championship played at your old club, how you want to win this competition??? Attention seeking???
AlchemyGolf
Head Pro
Oh for gods sake craw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I couldnt have tried any harder on every shot i played!!
I think you need to experience it to fully understand how different it is to playing as a hobby.
Untill i can go back to the cycling its golf all the way,I need something to do with my limited time away from the family and golf provides me with it.
I dont do any sport unless I try to do the best I can so yes while im playing golf I want to play in county champs and play as well as i can but i will drop it in a flash like i did last time to go back to cycling.
See if this explains it better.
In golf I have achieved alot of goals,I played full time,i gave it my best shot and went as far as i was going to go,at the end of the day I WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!it was nothing to do with being good enough and not trying.
You need to be +3 at least...
Now think about a sport (golf for you) where you have started at the bottom and your still seeing how far you can go,how good you can be,its exciting to be breaking new ground.
Well thats what i want!
I did all that in golf 18 years ago.
As for my business,yes im going to earn a living from refurbing golf clubs,that is to earn money for my family and has nothing to do with th game itself.
its business!!
I think that you guys are so golf crazy (as i was) that you find it hard to understand why a 2 handicapper would just stop playing,I hope the above explains this so you can try to at least understand.
Also like to point out that I am no where near the player I was in my 20s now!!
I couldnt have tried any harder on every shot i played!!
I think you need to experience it to fully understand how different it is to playing as a hobby.
Untill i can go back to the cycling its golf all the way,I need something to do with my limited time away from the family and golf provides me with it.
I dont do any sport unless I try to do the best I can so yes while im playing golf I want to play in county champs and play as well as i can but i will drop it in a flash like i did last time to go back to cycling.
See if this explains it better.
In golf I have achieved alot of goals,I played full time,i gave it my best shot and went as far as i was going to go,at the end of the day I WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!it was nothing to do with being good enough and not trying.
You need to be +3 at least...
Now think about a sport (golf for you) where you have started at the bottom and your still seeing how far you can go,how good you can be,its exciting to be breaking new ground.
Well thats what i want!
I did all that in golf 18 years ago.
As for my business,yes im going to earn a living from refurbing golf clubs,that is to earn money for my family and has nothing to do with th game itself.
its business!!
I think that you guys are so golf crazy (as i was) that you find it hard to understand why a 2 handicapper would just stop playing,I hope the above explains this so you can try to at least understand.
Also like to point out that I am no where near the player I was in my 20s now!!
haplesshacker
Money List Winner
Whilst I understand both arguments here, (I did accuse Alchemy of attention seeking a little while ago!), I do understand where he is coming from, though perhaps not as eloquent as he could be, I do get his point.
I spent the best part of 30 years involved in sailing, as an amatuer, as a professional, and at the companies that I've worked for. I could have been higher up the food ladder, but I lacked the self belief, the contacts, and I had a girlfriend at the time that didn't like me being away that much. It was my life. BUT, I have not done any sailing now for almost 2 years. Strangely about the same length of time that I've been playing golf, and my son is also 2 years old!
Due to a shoulder and knee injury I cannot even consider 'going for it', but I am good at what I do, and know doubt will one day feel the hankering to get back to it. Just not yet, and it won't be professionally.
Another reason for getting out, was that after 30 years I'd felt that I'd achieved everything that I was going to achieve given the 'restrictions', and I was going to end up on some committee organising and running events. I wasn't ready to give up competitive sports just yet. Thus the golf.
Not taking sides, but I do get where everyone is coming from.
I spent the best part of 30 years involved in sailing, as an amatuer, as a professional, and at the companies that I've worked for. I could have been higher up the food ladder, but I lacked the self belief, the contacts, and I had a girlfriend at the time that didn't like me being away that much. It was my life. BUT, I have not done any sailing now for almost 2 years. Strangely about the same length of time that I've been playing golf, and my son is also 2 years old!
Due to a shoulder and knee injury I cannot even consider 'going for it', but I am good at what I do, and know doubt will one day feel the hankering to get back to it. Just not yet, and it won't be professionally.
Another reason for getting out, was that after 30 years I'd felt that I'd achieved everything that I was going to achieve given the 'restrictions', and I was going to end up on some committee organising and running events. I wasn't ready to give up competitive sports just yet. Thus the golf.
Not taking sides, but I do get where everyone is coming from.
Boabski
Challenge Tour Pro
good shout craw
it's a great place to be around , i have slowed down on the old posting as i only comment when i feel it's necessary but i always check in everyday and have a read
thats more than a year i have been around now , long may it last
it's a great place to be around , i have slowed down on the old posting as i only comment when i feel it's necessary but i always check in everyday and have a read
thats more than a year i have been around now , long may it last
AlchemyGolf
Head Pro
Thank you hapless,you have experienced a similar thing and understand,its all about a new challenge,new goals etc.
I apolagise if I am a bit direct but sometimes I feel i need to be to get a point across for the 3rd time.
haplesshacker
Money List Winner
Back on topic, and it is your thread after all Craw. Good shout.
We all use this forum differently. Some as a source for info, some as a way of imparting their great wealth of knowledge and experiance. Some as a way of hooking up with other like minded individuals, and playing a round. Some to just fill in some 'soap' time. Some to have a bit of a laugh, and some for all of the above. It's whatever you want it to be.
I 'know' more about some of your preferences, tendencies, political leanings, music and film choices, and family lives than I do of some of my own 'friends'. I've only been on here a year, and some of my friends I've known for 15 years.
Strange.
We all use this forum differently. Some as a source for info, some as a way of imparting their great wealth of knowledge and experiance. Some as a way of hooking up with other like minded individuals, and playing a round. Some to just fill in some 'soap' time. Some to have a bit of a laugh, and some for all of the above. It's whatever you want it to be.
I 'know' more about some of your preferences, tendencies, political leanings, music and film choices, and family lives than I do of some of my own 'friends'. I've only been on here a year, and some of my friends I've known for 15 years.
Strange.
